Mater Draconis
by Baron Zed
Summary: Not long after getting cursed at Jusenkyo, Ranma helps a dying mother dragon fight off some Musk. The dragon entrusts her baby to Ranma's care to raise as his/her own. Ranma follows the dragon's advice to seek out the Amazons for help. Not a Ranma/Shampoo pairing.
1. Chapter 1: The Dragon

Ranma and his friends were created by Rumiko Takahashi. This is fan fiction created for fun.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This fic also owes some inspiration to Matron Draconus a short, incomplete story by DirectorJuno which can also be found on this site. I liked the concept behind that story to try my own hand at it. I haven't made any attempt to keep things the same other than the most basic premise which is that Ranma adopts a baby dragon after helping its dying mother fight off some Musk not long after getting cursed at Jusenkyo.

* * *

Ranma tromped angrily through the underbrush in the hills near Jusenkyo. Her father had taken her to this awful place and gotten them both cursed—himself as a panda and her as a girl. She had lost 10 centimeters in height and jiggled in places she should not. Her hips moved strangely when she walked and her balance was off because her center of gravity was lower. Her hair had also turned red, but in comparison to the other things that hardly registered. Her only consolation was that, unlike her father, she could still talk.

A woman's voice yelled something in Mandarin that Ranma did not understand. The voice sounded angry and desperate at the same time. Taunting male voices could be heard competing with the female voice.

Ranma scowled. She was not at peak performance because of her new body, but if there was one thing her father had drilled into her that she had internalized and made her own, it was the Code of the Martial Artist. The most basic principle of the Code was: A Martial Artist protects those who cannot protect themselves. She ran toward the voices

Three men in animal-themed clothing stood outside a cave jeering. At least two male voices and the female voice sounded from within the cave. She shuddered at what they might be doing to the woman. She had always detested rapists and those who beat on women, but now her feelings were a lot more personal.

"It takes real brave men to gang up on a helpless woman," she taunted in Japanese. The Jusenkyo Guide had spoken Japanese, so there was a chance these would as well.

The men turned around. One of them responded in Japanese, "Get her. She looks healthy enough to make a good breeder."

She knew he had said that to freak her out or he would have said it in Mandarin. Her distaste at the situation turned into a raw, focused anger. The anger motivated her to forget the oddness of her new body and ignore the dissonance it caused. She leapt toward the speaker, planted her left foot, and used the momentum to slam a spin kick into the speaker's crotch. He would not be using any "breeders" anytime soon. She pivoted and slammed a side kick into one of the other men's knee. She ducked a swing from a spiked club held by the last man outside the cave.

Both of the foes she had struck were on the ground howling. She needed to move quickly before those in the cave came out to see what was happening. She leapt into the air and rebounded off the hillside next to the cave and came at the last villain from above. He raised his arm to protect himself, but it did little good as she landed on it feet first, slamming him into the ground and knocking him unconscious from the impact with the earth.

"Come out, cowards!" she yelled.

Two more figures emerged from the cave. One of them she dismissed as being no more skilled than the other three, but the other was better equipped. He had the same bearing as a yakuza neighborhood boss, even if he was dressed in bristle-covered leather with boar tusks mounted on a leather helmet. He carried a spear.

"Who dares call warriors of the Musk Dynasty cowards?" the leader said.

"What else do you call someone who picks on defenseless women?" Ranma said.

"I do not answer to you, female," he sneered. "Females exist to serve the Musk. You will serve too."

"Not hardly," Ranma snarled.

She sprang at him, and then ducked under his spear thrust. She struck at the hand holding the spear, but he dodged. She revised her assessment of his skill up slightly, but not enough to be able to give her trouble. She stayed within his guard so that he could not leverage his spear against her. She launched a series of quick strikes. On the third she succeed in disarming him. A follow up dislocated his shoulder.

The last of the animal men watched her warily.

"Are you going to take your buddies and leave or am I going to have to put you all down permanently?" she asked.

She really hoped they did not call her bluff. She did not want blood on her hands—not even that of rapist scum. She was a Martial Artist, not an executioner. She disliked the need to use crippling strikes, but it had been necessary to take care of them as soon as possible.

"You will not escape the Musk, female, and you are too late to save the one inside," the leader growled, clenching his teeth in pain. "Prince Herb will make quick work of you."

"I do not fear the Prince of Rapists," Ranma snarled. She began to count slowly down from ten. By the time she got to five, they had fled, carrying or dragging their incapacitated friends.

She entered the cave, nervous about what she would find. If the woman had truly been raped, she was not sure what to do.

"Hello," she called. "Are you alright? I drove off those rapists."

"Thank you, young lady," the voice from before called. "Please approach."

Ranma frowned at being called a lady, but shrugged it off. There was no way the woman could know she had just been cursed and protesting her manhood to a rape victim would be tasteless. The cave was deeper than she had thought from the outside. A torch lay on the floor not too far in. She paused to allow her eyes to adjust and then continued. There was a wide passage that lead from the entrance cavern. She proceeded into it and was surprised to see a dim light. The light was steady, as if from an electric light, but was an unusual color for any standard type of light bulb. After a couple of meters the passage opened up into a larger cavern. The light came from crystals imbedded in the walls rather than electric light bulbs. Various works of art of all type filled the walls of the cavern. There were paintings and tapestries; gold, silver, and crystal figurines; beautiful boxes of wood and metal; and sculptures of stone and clay. Most surprising, however, was the cave's occupant: a four-meter-long (not including the tail), silver-colored, Western-style dragon.

Ranma could only stare.

"You are not an Amazon," the dragon said.

"Amazon?" Ranma asked, confused.

"Regardless, you have my sincere gratitude, young lady," she said. "May I know my savior's name?"

Ranma startled and bowed politely. "I'm Saotome Ranma, heir to the Saotome School of Indiscriminate Grappling."

The dragon inclined her head. "My name is Mithril. Will you hear a dying mother's wish, Saotome Ranma?"

Ranma nodded carefully. She could see now that the dragon was curled protectively around something small.

"Two weeks ago, Prince Herb of the Musk Dynasty fatally wounded me with an enchanted blade. I managed to drive him off, but he has sent his men to harry me since then. It has taken all my strength to drive them off and keep my daughter alive. I will die soon, but I refuse to let my daughter fall into their hands to be kept as a slave and breeding stock. Before you came, I had just about given up hope."

Ranma did not know exactly what the dragon wanted, but she decided she would help. If nothing else, she could take the baby dragon to these Amazons.

"Sure, I'll help if I can," she said. "What do you need?"

"Come here, please, Ranma," Mithril said.

Ranma approached. She could see the deep wound in the dragon's chest. Blood glistened in the wound, but did not flow out of it. The dragon shifted its tail, allowing him to see a small, silver dragon gently sleeping. It was about three feet long including its tail.

"This is Luna," Mithril said. Ranma could hear the love and the pride in the dragon's voice.

"Please pick her up," the dragon asked.

"I don't know if I should," Ranma said hesitantly. "I don't know anything about babies—much less dragon babies."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Mithril said gently. "She's sturdy enough that you won't hurt her unless you drop her."

"Okay," Ranma said with trepidation. She gently scooped up the baby dragon. Luna's tail wrapped around her waist and she opened her eyes. The baby dragon had bright blue, curious eyes. She snuggled into Ranma's chest. The dragon felt pleasantly warm in her arms.

"She likes you, Ranma," Mithril said, pleased.

"I guess she does," Ranma said, not able to keep a bit of wonder out of her voice.

"I want you to raise her as your own," Mithril said suddenly.

"What!?" exclaimed Ranma. "I thought you just wanted me to take her to those Amazons you mentioned."

Luna stirred in her arms.

The great dragon shook her head. "There is no time. I sent to them after I was injured, but the messenger serpent I sent must have been intercepted by the Musk. If you don't do this for her, Ranma, Luna will be unable to grow into a healthy adult dragon."

"But. . ." Ranma protested.

"There is a ritual that I can perform to help Luna's foster mother protect and care for her. Without this ritual, she will not be linked to anyone after I die. This link is essential for a dragon to develop the intelligence to grow beyond being a dumb animal. The ritual I propose will make you dragon-blooded and able to form the link with Luna. Unfortunately, my strength ebbs and within the hour I will not have enough to perform the ritual."

"I'm not really a girl," Ranma protested. "Or at least I wasn't until a couple of hours ago."

Mithril nodded. "I can see Jusenkyo's touch upon you. Unfortunately, the benefits of being dragon-blooded will not carry over to your other form."

"Other form?" Ranma asked.

"You have not heard how the magic of Jusenkyo works?" the dragon asked.

Ranma shook her head. "I started chasing Pop the moment I got cursed and after he evaded me is when I ran into those Musk creeps."

"Cold water activates the magic and warm water deactivates it," Mithril said. "You were originally a man?"

Ranma nodded.

"You can turn back with warm water, but when you get wet with cold water you will change into what you are now again."

Ranma sighed in relief. "Can you perform the ritual when I'm back to normal?"

The dragon shook her head. "Dragons are only linked this deeply to their mothers or mates."

The redhead looked down at the baby dragon that had fallen asleep again. She wanted to say no. If she said yes, that would mean spending a substantial amount of time as a girl. Her honor would require her to actually be her mother in more than name. She opened her mouth to say no, but could not make the words come out.

"I want you to teach her your Art," the dragon said as she hesitated. "Your skill and your honor have impressed me. Not many would be willing or able to fight off five Musk warriors. I want my daughter to be courageous and skilled like you."

"I am the best," Ranma boasted, "but I'm not sure that I can teach my Art to a dragon."

"Dragons are natural shapeshifters," Mithril said. "Normally a hatchling Luna's age could not shift, but in addition to you becoming dragon-blooded, she will become human-blooded. This will enable her to assume a human shape at a young age, instead of waiting the normal centuries."

"What will it mean for me to be dragon-blooded?" Ranma asked.

"Dragon-blooded are members of other races who have a small amount of a dragon's power gifted to them in exchange for companionship. We dragons are rare and we sometimes take others, such as humans, as companions, siblings, or lovers. I personally have made several humans dragon-blooded because they were like sisters to me. The last being about three hundred years ago. Unfortunately, she was captured by the Musk not long after. They hid her from me and she died in childbirth. Her descendants are part of the ruling line of the Musk, but have been twisted by the Musk's despicable culture."

"So the man who did this to you. . ."

"Was my sister's grandson," she said sadly. "That is one of the reasons he succeeded. I saw her face in him and could not make myself strike him down."

After a moment of silence, Mithril continued, "Dragon-blooded are stronger both physically and in their life force. Usually their hair changes color and they grow taller. If you do this for us, your hair will likely become silver. Often their eyes change, but usually only when emotional. Many dragon-blooded are able to manifest wings that enable them to fly and they can use magic. Very rarely, a dragon-blooded is able to change into a true dragon. However, these gifts all manifest over time. The hair change and your link to Luna will likely be the only immediate changes. Since we will be using both mine and Luna's blood in the ritual, you will probably manifest the gifts more strongly than most."

All of that sounded fine to Ranma. She was not attached to her red hair at all. Taller was also good. Being able to actually fly. . . She grinned. The only issue was the mother part of it. Her grin faded.

"This won't trap me as a woman, will it?" she asked.

The dragon shook her head. "It will not," she assured the cursed boy. "However, for the link to work, you will need to spend a lot of time as a woman. Will you do this for us, Saotome Ranma? Will you save my daughter?"

She looked down again at the sleeping baby. Her movement woke the dragon up. She looked up at her again with her bright eyes. Ranma could not say no.

"I'll do it," she said with some amount of trepidation.

The dragon sighed in relief. "You have my deepest thanks, Saotome Ranma. You have no idea right now what this means to me, sister, but I think you will learn." She stood up gingerly onto all fours. "Follow me. I prepared for the ritual in case the Amazons came in time."

The older dragon hobbled over to a flat place in the cavern. Symbols and shapes had been scratched carefully into the floor. The main designs were three circles—one large and two small. They were arranged in a line. Curved lines ran between the large circle and the farther of the smaller circles and between the two smaller circles. Mithril sank to the ground inside the larger circle.

"I need blood from all three of us," Mithril said. She took a claw and pierced her front foreleg and allowed it to drip into a silver bowl. "Hold Luna still, please."

Ranma nodded and the dragon gently pierced baby's foreleg. Ranma gently pressed the small wound to allow a few drops of the baby's blood to fall into the bowl. Luna squawked in protest, but settled down quickly after a blue glow from her mother closed the wound.

Ranma presented her forearm and Mithril gently pressed a claw into it. The wound stung, but Ranma paid it no attention as she dripped blood into the bowl.

"Please place Luna in the middle circle and then go sit in the far circle, please, Ranma," the dragon asked. She scooted the bowl so that it was at the edge of her circle near where the lines departed from it.

Ranma did as she asked. She had a little bit of a hard time disentangling Luna from her. The baby dragon did not want to let go.

"Before we begin," Mithril said. "I want to answer any questions you might have. It is likely that I will only live for a few minutes after I complete the ritual, since it will use up the rest of my magic."

"What about Luna's father?" Ranma asked nervously.

"Dragon eggs gestate within us for many centuries, Ranma," she said. "I last saw her father four hundred years ago. I don't know what happened to him and have no way to get in touch with him anyway."

"Is there anything you want me to do special with Luna?" Ranma asked.

"Treat her like your own," the dragon said. "Teach her what you know—your Art and your honor." She hesitated. "I want you to give her a new name."

"What?" Ranma exclaimed. "But. . ."

"She will be your daughter as much as mine," the dragon said firmly. "I want you to give her a name."

"What does the name Luna mean?" the human asked.

"It means 'moon' in the first human language I learned," the dragon said.

"I will name her Saotome Tsukiko then," Ranma stated. It meant 'moon child' in Japanese.

The dragon bowed to her. "Thank you Ranma," she said quietly. "Two more things before we begin, sister. First, you can help Tsukiko change from human to dragon and back by giving her nudges over your connection. She's too young to do more than send you feelings and vice versa, but over time more complex messages will be able to be sent. Second, seek out the Amazons and ask for Cologne. She is of my sister's family. She can help you. The Jusenkyo Guide can show you where the Amazons live. Bear the title of Mater Draconis proudly, Saotome Ranma."

"Mater Draconis?" Ranma asked awkwardly. Stumbling over the foreign words.

"It means Ryuu no Haha or perhaps Doragon no Haha since the Romans did not know of any Japanese dragons." Dragon Mother. Doragon was the usual Japanese word for European dragons, while native dragons were called ryuu.

"Are you ready?" the dragon asked.

"Yes," Ranma said, with a small squeak in her voice. She flushed and then repeated, "Yes, I'm ready.

The dragon began chanting in a language that Ranma did not recognize. She tried to pay attention to see if she could feel any changes in her, but as the chanting continued, she drifted into a trance and close her eyes.

She felt bloated and tight in her abdomen. She tried to feel it to see what was wrong, she felt detached; her body would not move. A sudden pressure squeezed her insides for a few seconds before releasing. It felt like a muscle she did not recognize contracting. She drifted again. The squeezing returned. This repeated itself over and over again—the squeezing came and went. Strictly speaking it did not hurt, but it was quite uncomfortable. Between the tightness and the squeezing inside her, she was starting to get irritated. She wanted it to be over. The squeezing pressures started to become more and more frequent until the tightness no longer completely relaxed. The pressure mounted against her bottom, but from the inside. Her instincts caused her to push with the strange muscle whenever the squeezing came. Finally, the tightness reached a peak, and with a burst of pain she felt something moving through her nether regions. It paused and then with another squeeze it was out. Her entire middle felt soar and she was exhausted. A human baby filled her vision. It had fuzzy silver hair and deep blue, eyes with a slitted pupil. Overlaid with the human baby was an image of Tsukiko. She knew they were the same thing. Tsukiko cried and her heart went out to her. She opened her eyes and was again in the cavern. In the circle where the baby dragon had lain was the human baby she had seen in her vision. She was crying. Ranma looked over to where Mithril was. The adult dragon looked exhausted.

"You can leave your circle and pick her up, sister," Mithril said. "It's over."

"What in the world happened, Mithril?" Ranma asked as she went over and picked up the crying baby. The soreness and exhaustion she had felt in the trance or vision faded. The baby calmed down.

"You are now, or will be, Tsukiko's mother in all ways that matter," Mithril said tiredly. "In order for it to be so, the magic made you feel like you gave birth to her."

"But she's a dragon and I thought you came from eggs!" Ranma exclaimed.

"We do," Mithril said, "but _you_ are a human and you have live births."

Ranma started to hyperventilate. "I can't have given birth. I'm really a man!"

"Calm down, Ranma," the dragon said. "You didn't really give birth. In fact, since you've only been a woman for a few hours, I assume you're still a virgin. The magic just made you feel like you did."

"That was what giving birth feels like?" Ranma asked. "I've heard it was supposed to be more painful than that was."

"From the human women I've talked to," Mithril said, "it varies depending on the woman and the birth. The magic gave you both 'easy births.'"

"Tsukiko felt that too?" Ranma asked. "From the other side?"

The dragon nodded. "It helps her imprint on you." She sighed. "I can feel myself fade." The dragon lowered her head until it rested on the ground. "I can't thank you enough for doing this for my daughter, Saotome Ranma. While we have only known each other for a short time, you are worthy to be called my sister and Mater Draconis. Have a long and happy life. Take care of each other."

The dragon seemed to melt into sparkles. The sparkles swirled around Ranma and her new charge before sinking into their skin. It left a warm, pleasant feeling. Ranma noticed that her hair had indeed turned silver. It had an almost metallic sheen.

She looked around until she found a soft blanket and wrapped her newly adopted daughter in it. She would have to return with the Amazons to get the rest of this. There was no way she was leaving it for the Musk.

Ranma sighed. "Well, Tsukiko. Let's go see if we can find Pop or the Guide."

They left the cave.


	2. Chapter 2: Amazons

When Ranma arrived back at Jusenkyo, the Guide said, "Young Mr. Customer! Your hair different! Old Mr. Customer look for you! Took packs and left."

"Figures," Ranma muttered. "Pop never has any patience." She knew her father would find her sooner or later. He always did.

"Mr. Customer!" the Guide exclaimed. "Where you find baby?"

"Her mother was fatally wounded by the Musk," Ranma explained. "She insisted that I care for her daughter and I've promised on my honor to do it."

"Musk bad news for women," the Guide said. He then brightened. "You know about curse? Hot water deactivate. Cold water activate."

Ranma nodded. "Tsukiko's mother told me about it before she died." She looked down at Tsukiko who was sleeping. She really wanted to test it out and verify that it worked.

"Do you have a place where I can put Tsukiko down?" she asked. "I'd like to change back."

"This way, Mr. Customer," said the Guide.

He led her inside the small building set at the foot of the cliffs that rose above Jusenkyo, well away for the pools themselves. Inside the building was a kitchen area, a couch, and two beds.

"Lay her on couch, Mr. Customer," the Guide instructed.

"Thanks," Ranma responded. "I will when the water is ready."

While she waited, the silver-haired girl sat on the couch and cuddled her sleeping baby. Despite still disliking the curse, she felt oddly content.

When the water was ready, she set Tsukiko down on the couch. The baby fussed and made grasping motions at her, but Ranma steeled her heart. Mater Draconis or not, she needed to make sure she could still be Saotome Ranma, sixteen-year-old man among men. She took a kettle from the Guide and poured it over her head. The change was nearly instant. The thing he noticed first was that his gi hung differently. He had to loosen the belt, so that it did not dig into his abdomen painfully. His chest was nice and flat and no longer threatening to come out of his gi. He took a few steps—happy that his hips worked like they should. The only things that bothered him were that a comfortable warmth that had been present without his knowledge since the ritual was now noticeable by its absence and that Tsukiko's fussing had progressed to full-blown crying.

He picked her up, but she continued to cry. He sighed. "I suppose you want your mother, rather than whatever my male half is to you."

He turned to the Guide. "Can I have some cold water now? I just wanted to make sure hot water worked."

The Guide frowned, but did as he asked. He laid Tsukiko back down and changed into his girl form. The warmth in the back of her mind returned and her daughter quieted down so that she was only lightly fussing again. She sighed and picked her up which caused Tsukiko to quiet down again.

"Can you take me to the Amazons?" she asked the Guide. "I have some things I need to discuss with them."

"Okay, Mr. Customer," the Guide said. "We can go now."

* * *

The trip to the Amazon village took about an hour. It was a pleasant, unhurried walk. Ranma cared for her father, but it was good to take a break from him on occasion. She had no illusions that her father would welcome the adoption of a baby girl, so she was pleased to put off the confrontation for now.

The Amazon village was a crude affair compared to Japan's villages, but that was to be expected. Japan had no real wilderness and the only isolated parts of it were some of its smallest islands. The Bayankala Mountains were very isolated and its inhabitants probably valued their autonomy from the Chinese central government. Ranma found it refreshing. She was no survivalist nut, but she found that she could take or leave modern conveniences and she did value her freedom.

The female guards at the village's gates watched them carefully. Then, they seemed to identify the Guide and switched to ignoring them. The streets were mostly empty. She could see only a few men here and there who seemed to be going about doing chores. The Guide led them to the village square where a large group of people were gathered.

"Oh, lucky, Mr. Customer," the Guide said. "Yearly Tournament. Village Champion chosen."

A young woman Ranma's age with long purple hair was fighting a mannish woman on a log. The purple-haired woman was skilled while the other was strong and brutish. The skilled girl dodged the purple woman's blows and then landed her own, knocking the other off the log.

"Oh! There other Mr. Customer," the Guide said.

Ranma turned and saw her panda father gorging himself on food that was laid out nicely on a table. She sighed. Somehow she knew this would not end well for him. As long as they did not kill or cripple him, she would let it play out.

The purple-haired girl noticed that the food was being eaten and started yelling in Mandarin. She started to chase Ranma's father around. Somehow her father was producing signs proclaiming his innocence. She frowned; some of them offered his son to the girl.

"What an interesting panda," an old woman's voice said from her side in Japanese. "Is he yours?"

"Not exactly," Ranma responded. "He is my father though, so I'd ask that you not kill or cripple him when you punish him."

She turned to see a shrunken crone balanced on a walking stick. She had long, wispy, white hair.

"How did you know to speak Japanese?" Ranma asked.

The old woman said, "It was a reasonable guess based on the panda's signs. The expression on your face indicated you were familiar with its antics. I assume you just came from Jusenkyo. Are you cursed as well?"

"I am," Ranma said after a moment's reflection. She needed the Amazons to trust her—besides, many of them probably saw her come in with the Guide, who was still near by. She turned to face the old woman in order to talk to her more politely.

The old woman fell off her stick. "Where did you get that baby!?" she demanded.

The Jusenkyo Guide took that as a signal to flee. Ranma was surprised that the old woman could recognize that Tsukiko was special. It made her nervous, but Mithril had told her to get the Amazon's help and, to be honest, she really had no idea what to do with a baby. She really only knew that they drank milk and needed diapers. She tried to think of the best way to tell them what had happened that would not get them to try and take Tsukiko from her.

"Well!?" the old woman said impatiently.

Ranma's only real talent at speaking was to make people mad at her, so she had to be careful. Her honor depended on it. "Her birth mother named me 'sister' and charged me to take care of her as my own. She also told me to seek out the Amazon named Cologne, who was family to another of her sisters."

The woman stared at her intently for a few moments before relaxing. "I am Cologne," she said.

Ranma relaxed in return. She trusted in Mithril's judgement. "My name is Saotome Ranma and this is Saotome Tsukiko, my adopted daughter. I'm glad to meet you Cologne, because I could really use some help in learning how to take care of Tsukiko. In my wildest dreams I never imagined that I would be in this situation."

"Is this your cursed form?" Cologne asked, smirking.

Ranma sighed. "It is. I really hate it, but the gift Mithril gave me to help me take care of Tsukiko only works when I'm like this. Tsukiko also got upset the only time I've changed back."

"If you really hate it," Cologne said seriously, "the Tribe of Hero Women would be honored to take care of Mithril's daughter."

"I can't," she said, equally serious. "I promised on my honor to raise her as my own. Mithril also said that I was the only one who could raise her because of the gift she gave me."

"Come with me to my home and we can talk," Cologne said.

She took her to a traditional-style Chinese home and invited her in. They both sat at a low table and Cologne fixed her tea.

After they had drank a few sips, Cologne asked her, "What happened to Mithril and how did you meet her?"

Ranma explained about driving off the Musk, meeting the dragon, and what she had told her.

Cologne frowned. "Your tale is very troubling, sister of my sister's sister. The Musk Dynasty has preferred to isolate itself in recent years. That they would openly move agains Mithril and slay her is distressing. She has long been a friend of the Hero Women."

Ranma nodded. She hated the lack of respect for life the Musk had shown.

Cologne declined to say anything else, lost in her own thoughts.

"How were you related to Mithril's other sister, Cologne?" Ranma asked to break the silence.

"She was my true sister by blood," Cologne said with a brief smile.

"Really?" Ranma asked. "Mithril said that it was several centuries ago."

Cologne cackled. "The elders of the Tribe of Hero Women know many secrets. Some of those allow us to live much longer than most other humans. I, myself, am over three hundred years old."

Tsukiko took that moment to wake up and start to cry. The warm ball that had been with Ranma since the ritual radiated need.

Ranma frowned. "Tsukiko wants something, but I don't know what it is. Can you help me, Cologne? I really have no idea what to do."

Cologne cackled again. "In my extensive experience, babies want four things: to be fed, to sleep, to be cleaned, and to be comforted. How long has it been since she's eaten?"

Ranma blushed. "Since before I met her. I haven't had anything to feed her."

Cologne stood up and then used her walking stick to push aside the opening of Ranma's gi, exposing her breasts. Ranma looked down and saw that her nipples were damp. She had noticed that her gi had felt a little clammy, but had thought it was sweat or moisture from the humidity.

"I thought so," Cologne said. "Mithril has provided you a way to feed her baby."

Ranma's blush deepened. Her unwanted descent into womanhood continued. Still, she had promised on her honor and her baby would not go hungry like she had so many times.

"How do I do this?" she asked.

Cologne cackled again. "Simply insert it into the baby's mouth. She'll do the rest."

Ranma brought Tsukiko up to her breast and the baby latched on and began suckling. A pressure that she had not realized was there began to relieve itself.

"Does she have diapers?" Cologne asked.

Ranma shook her head. "Before the ritual that Mithril did, she was a dragon. She didn't need them. I found this blanket to wrap her in, but that's all."

"I can provide you with some diapers. You'll have to wash them. We don't have the connections to have disposables here."

"That reminds me, Cologne," Ranma said. "Would it be possible to send people to Mithril's cave? I don't want her treasures to fall into Musk hands."

Cologne nodded gravely. "I will organize a party immediately. I will need to go with them, since I am one of the few that know where the cave is, but I will have another young mother come by to teach you about diapers and other mothering necessities."

"Thank you, Cologne," Ranma said gratefully.

The old woman left. About 15 minutes later, a young woman carrying a baby that looked a little older than Tsukiko entered the home.

"Greetings, Tatsu no Haha," the woman said. "My name is Napkin and this is my daugher, Doily."

"Call me Ranma," she replied. "And this is my adopted daughter, Tsukiko."

"I couldn't be so familiar with the warrior chosen by the Great Dragon," Napkin said. "I, myself, am not a warrior."

Ranma sighed. "Call me Mater Draconis then. It means the same thing in the dragon Mithril's language." The foreign language allowed her some distance from her new responsibility.

The Amazon smiled. "Okay, Mater Draconis."

Napkin spent the next hour teaching Ranma how to care for a baby. She did her best to pay attention. Her honor depended on it. After she was finished feeding Tsukiko, Napkin showed her how to burp her. She did not really enjoy either activity, but they were not bad when compared to diaper changing. Napkin also gave her tips on the dos and don'ts of holding a baby. Luckily, Tsukiko was developed enough that she was somewhat sturdy.

As Ranma was finishing changing Tsukiko's diaper—luckily she had not gone while in just the blanket—she heard Napkin say, "Now, if your monthly bleeding doesn't happen, don't worry, Mater Draconis. The menstrual cycle of many women does not start up again while they are nursing heavily. Since you did not actually give birth, I don't know if this will be the case."

Ranma halted. "Monthly bleeding?" she asked with trepidation.

"You have not started your menstrual cycle yet?" Napkin said in confusion. "You're sixteen? Seventeen?"

"Sixteen," Ranma confirmed.

"Most women start between twelve and fourteen," Napkin said.

"I've been a woman for less than a day," Ranma said with even more trepidation.

At Napkin's confused look, she added, "Jusenkyo."

"I thought it was a myth," Napkin said.

"Definitely not," Ranma said with feeling.

Napkin proceeded to lecture Ranma on the menstrual cycle and feminine hygiene. Ranma would rather have remained ignorant of what women went through, but decided it was better to know now than to be surprised. She desperately hoped nursing postponed her cycle.

By the time Napkin left, Ranma was feeling even more overwhelmed. She glanced down at Tsukiko who had gone back to sleep. She admitted to herself that she had already grown attached to the little girl. She knew a lot of that was due to the ritual she had undergone, but even without that, she did not think she could stand to condemn the infant in her arms to growing up as a barely thinking animal. Beyond her promise to Mithril, the Code of the Martial Artist demanded that she help since she was the only one that could.

There was an old rocking chair in one corner of the room. Ranma sat in it and cradled her baby. It had been a long, mentally exhausting day, even though it was only late afternoon. She feel asleep within minutes of sitting down.


	3. Chapter 3: Shampoo's Challenge

"Wake up, child," a scratchy old woman's voice said. "It's dinner time."

"What?" Ranma said. "Dinner?"

The magic words brought her to awareness quickly. She saw Cologne perched on her walking stick, peering at her.

"You'll be happy to know that we made it to Mithril's cave before the Musk and rescued her treasures."

Ranma smiled. She was glad that those murderers would not get the treasure. As she shifted, Tsukiko woke up and started to fuss. The feeling in the back of her mind felt needy. She thought that meant that the baby was hungry.

"I guess that means you get to eat first, little one," she said, granting her baby access to her milk.

"What would you have us do with the dragon's treasure?" Cologne asked.

"Me?" Ranma said. "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

Cologne nodded. "The treasure rightly belongs to your new daughter. She can hardly say what to do with it right now, can she?"

Ranma frowned. She doubted that she could take much of it with her. What little she did take would always be in danger of being pawned by her father to buy food or sake.

"Could your people watch over it until Tsukiko or I need it?" Ranma asked. "I'm not sure where Pop wants us to go next and I'm afraid he'd try and pawn it."

"You needn't travel with that man, sister of my sister's sister," Cologne said.

"He's my pop," Ranma said. "He's caused me no end of trouble, but he's all I have—other than Tsukiko. He's a decent Martial Arts instructor too."

"You study the Art, child?" the old woman asked.

Ranma nodded. "It's a family art called Indiscriminate Grappling."

"Indiscriminate Grappling?" Cologne said. "You don't happen to know your father's master, do you?"

Ranma shook her head. "He never talks about him. What little I know is that Pop is glad to be free of him."

"The Tribe of Hero Women know of a disreputable little troll that founded a school of Martial Arts called Indiscriminate Grappling. If it is the same school, you are fortunate to be free of him."

"Tribe of Hero Women? You've mentioned that name before." Ranma said. "I thought you were called Amazons."

Cologne chuckled. "Mithril preferred to call us that due to our similarities to a legend found among the humans in her birth country. She said we didn't have a monopoly on women heroes, but that our culture fit the Amazon name."

"Well," Ranma said with a smirk, "if the name was good enough for my adopted sister, it's good enough for me. I'll call you Amazons if you don't mind."

Cologne laughed. "We've never minded. The nickname has spread to others as well. The Tribe of Hero Women will be glad to watch over the Little Dragon's treasure in exchange for a tenth part of it."

Ranma frowned. She supposed it was only fair that the Amazons received a share; they did recover it—something that Ranma would have had a hard time doing herself—and they were keeping it safe from her greedy father. The problem was that she did not know if that was a reasonable price for doing it or if there were parts of it she should exempt them from taking. She decided she had no choice other than to trust Cologne.

"I suppose that would be fair," she answered carefully. "I only ask that you not take any items special to Tsukiko's heritage as your price and that you ask about any magic items before taking them."

"The Tribe of Hero Women agrees to your stipulations, Mater Draconis," Cologne said seriously.

Ranma scratched the back of her neck. "Napkin told you about that, did she?"

The old woman smiled. "It's a good title for you in your role as guardian of the Little Dragon."

The purple-haired girl from the martial-arts match that was happening when Ranma arrived in the village came into the room speaking Mandarin.

"We have a guest, Great-granddaughter," Cologne said. "Please speak Japanese for her benefit. Ranma, this is Shampoo, my great-granddaughter and the Village Champion. Shampoo, this is Saotome Ranma, sister of my sister's sister and Mater Draconis, and Tsukiko, the Little Dragon."

Ranma bowed from the chair where she was still nursing Tsukiko. Shampoo also bowed, albeit sullenly.

"Why Outsider Mater Draconis?" Shampoo asked in broken Japanese. "Great Dragon allied long time with Tribe Hero Women and family to us." She turned to Ranma and demanded, "You! Outsider girl. We fight. Winner be mother of Little Dragon."

Ranma opened her mouth to agree. Her father had taught her to accept any challenge. Tsukiko let go of her breast and started to fuss. The little ball of need in the back of her head grew a little. Following Napkin's instructions, she switched the baby to the other side. Shampoo could not care for Tsukiko like she needed and Ranma admitted to herself that she was not willing to let her go. While Ranma was confident she could win, agreeing to the terms acknowledged that someone could take Tsukiko away from her. Her baby was not a prize! "No," she said curtly.

"Coward," Shampoo sneered.

"Great-granddaughter," Cologne commanded, "you will not give the Kiss of Death or the Kiss of Marriage to our honored guest! Mater Draconis is not a common Outsider to be given such!"

"Kiss of Death!?" Ranma exclaimed.

"Kiss of Marriage!?" Shampoo exclaimed.

Cologne said, "An ancient custom of our tribe says that an Outsider woman who defeats a Hero Woman may be given the Kiss of Death which indicates that she will be followed to the ends of the Earth until she is killed in order to remove a threat to the Tribe. An Outsider man who defeats a Hero Woman may be given the Kiss of Marriage which binds them together to bring strength to the Tribe. Both kisses are at the discretion of the Hero Woman and once given they are a promise that must be fulfilled. My great-granddaughter is proud enough to give them."

Ranma frowned in distaste.

The old woman cackled softly. "Used with discretion, they have served us well. Sadly the young are sometimes lacking in that."

"Great-grandmother," Shampoo said. "Explain Kiss of Marriage!"

Cologne looked at Ranma slyly. "She hasn't outright confirmed it, but I strongly suspect that Mater Draconis was completely male until quite recently and still is sometimes."

"This morning," Ranma said in irritation.

"How?" Shampoo demanded.

"Jusenkyo," Ranma answered.

"Jusenkyo not just legend?" Shampoo asked.

"It's quite real," Ranma said. "The panda you were chasing around is my pop."

"You child of thief?" Shampoo demanded.

"Pop can pay for his own crimes," Ranma said. "I'm not responsible for him."

"You coward and child of thief," Shampoo insisted.

"I'm not a coward," Ranma said. "I'll fight you, but I can't and won't give up Tsukiko. Mithril bound us together and I don't know how to sever it and if I did it would damage Tsukiko."

"Not fight without risk," Shampoo sneered. "Just spar."

An idea had been rolling around in the back of Ranma's head. She felt like she was tied to the Amazons for Tsukiko's sake. She knew little about dragons, much less European dragons like Mithril and Tsukiko. The Amazons, and Cologne in particular, knew much more about them. Plus, they were the only practical guardians for Tsukiko's inheritance—a position Ranma had already given them. She needed ties to them—influential ties. Seeing as the Amazons were matriarchal, it would probably be better to make the ties as a woman. She mentally sighed; it would probably mean even more time spent as a woman. She had not seen evidence that they treated their men poorly or disregarded them, but she could not take the chance for Tsukiko's sake.

"We'll fight for position in the family," Ranma said. She turned and bowed to Cologne. "You have called me sister of my sister's sister." She grinned. "That's too much of a mouthful for a simple Martial Artist like myself. I would like to formalize our relationship. If I win, I'll be accepted as your younger sister. If she wins, I'll be her younger sister."

Cologne cackled. "Are you applying to be a member of the Tribe of Hero Women, child?"

Ranma said, "No, but you have a mechanism for non-Amazons to be accepted as sisters, right? Mithril had that relationship with your sister, correct?"

"May I ask why you would not seek membership in the Tribe?" questioned Cologne.

"I can't see myself settling down here," Ranma said. "I've been in China for a while now and I'd like to go back to Japan. Plus, Pop would never agree to stay here. He's not much of a pop, but he's all I have."

Cologne nodded. "Indeed the Tribe does accept sisterly adoptions by friends of the Tribe. As matriarch of the Fragrance family, I accept the terms of the fight between you and my great-granddaughter."

Shampoo scowled. "Little Sister see why this one is Village Champion."

Ranma smirked. "Saotome Ranma doesn't lose, Niece."

* * *

After Tsukiko had finished nursing, Ranma and the others ate. Cologne decided that it was too late for their challenge match, so it was put off for the morning.

After Tsukiko finished nursing, she fell asleep and Ranma herself ate with Cologne's family, which also included Shampoo's father. The man was meek and submissive. Even if Cologne and Shampoo did not talk down to him, he seemed to have little authority in the family. Ranma felt somewhat justified in continuing to deal with the Amazons as a woman.

After dinner, Cologne showed her to a small room. Before leaving her to her own devices, the old woman said, "I recommend that you don't go out into the village in your male form—unless you want to acquire a wife, Mater Draconis or not." She cackled when Ranma shook her head fervently.

Ranma wrapped Tsukiko snuggly like Napkin had shown her and laid her on the futon that was provided for them. She watched for a few minutes to make sure the baby was settled.

She stripped out of the red and black silk outfit that the Amazons had given her. They would be too tight on her birth form, especially the nursing bra Napkin had given her. Ranma had protested, but the bra was the best thing to hold the cloth pads in place that kept her from leaking all over her clothes. She had also picked out the same style outfit for her male form—just sized differently. She quickly got dressed and went to the kitchen and found a hot-water kettle on the stove. It was still warm, so she availed herself of it and used it to turn back to her birth form.

He went back to his room. He was thankful to find that his daughter was still asleep. There was not a lot of space in the room, but there was enough to run through some of his katas.

After practicing for an hour, he decided to get some sleep. It had been a long day.

* * *

Ranma was woken up in the middle of the night by Tsukiko's crying. He checked her diaper and found she was wet. He changed her, but she kept crying.

Sighing, he went back to the kitchen and got some water and turned back into a she. Her connection to Tsukiko said she was needy and so she sat in the rocking chair and fed her.

After she was done, Ranma was too tired to try and change back, so she simply put Tsukiko to bed and then lay down next to her. Having to fiddle with clothes and water in the middle of the night was a pain. She had a feeling she would be sleeping as a girl until Tsukiko was older. Luckily, Napkin had said that she would probably stop needing to be fed during the night before too long.

* * *

When she woke up, Ranma ran through a bunch of katas in order to try and settle herself in her new body. The bra helped keep her chest from moving all over the place which made moving a lot less distracting and painful. The type the Amazons favored were closer to what newspaper adds in Japan called sports bras and were designed for active women—even the nursing bras. Her other problem, the way her hips moved became less problematic the longer she practiced.

She had been afraid that turning into a girl would affect her speed and strength, but that did not seem to be the case. Like all premiere martial artists, she subconsciously supplemented her natural speed and strength with her ki. When she had first been cursed she had noticed that she was pulling on her ki harder to get the same performance. That was no longer the case. Whether this was due to being more used to her girl body or a side effect of becoming dragon-blooded she was not sure.

After breakfast, Shampoo led her to the Challenge Log. Napkin was holding Tsukiko. Since Ranma had set the terms for the match, Shampoo chose the protocol. The match was anything goes; first one to fall off the log lost. The Amazon probably thought that going for something where it was possible to win quickly would maximize Ranma's humiliation.

When they both indicated they were ready, Cologne called, "Go!"

Shampoo shot toward Ranma in a reckless jump kick. Ranma resisted the urge to end the fight then and there by tossing her away from the log. She wanted to reconcile with the Amazon, not humiliate her. Instead she blocked the kick and Shampoo rebounded away from her.

Shampoo came at her again, but this time more cautiously, holding a pair of chui. [ _sphere-headed hammer(s)_ ] The two fighters settled into a back and forth. Ranma concluded that Shampoo was very skilled, but not quite at Ranma's own level. After ten minutes of fighting, Ranma decided that she had satisfied the Amazon's pride and slipped inside Shampoo's guard. She feinted a strike at the Amazon's head and then dropped into a leg sweep. Shampoo tumbled off the log.

Shampoo hopped up looking disgruntled, but not angry. Ranma dipped into a brief bow and said, "Good match."

Shampoo returned her bow and said, "You very good for Outsider."

"I'm not an Outsider now; I'm family, remember?"

They both received claps on the back for congratulations and Ranma retrieved Tsukiko from Napkin. They followed Cologne back to her house. When they had entered the house, Cologne said, "Are you sure you don't want to let my great-granddaughter give you the Kiss of Marriage?"

"I'm sure, Sister," Ranma said.

Cologne cackled.

Ranma decided to voice something that had she had been wondering about. "Why is speaking Japanese so common here? I'm grateful that it's the case, but a little curious."

"It's because of that disgusting troll I mentioned earlier," Cologne said. "He started showing up when I was young and has come back every decade or so to bother us. Everyone in the valley has taken to learning Japanese to deal with him, since he never speaks Mandarin, even though I'm sure he understands it by now."

"Why do you never call him by name?" Ranma asked.

"Two reasons," Cologne said. "One, the toad isn't worthy of being referred to by name, and two, there's a superstition that when you say his name, he appears. We don't really know if it's true or not, but he's so obnoxious that no one wants to take the chance that it is."

Ranma laughed—it was definitely _not_ a giggle.

"What's going to happen to Pop?" Ranma asked.

"The Council of Elders decided to jail him for a week as a panda, feeding him only bamboo, and then release him with a beating of ten lashes." She arched an eyebrow. "Do you want to argue with the Council on his behalf?"

Ranma shook her head. "No. As long as nothing permanent happens to him, I'm fine with him taking his lumps. A week will give me some time to get used to things a little better before I have to deal with him again. Maybe pick up some Martial Arts?" She looked imploringly at her honorary sister.

Cologne laughed. "I think I can be talked into showing you a technique."

* * *

Ranma thought about asking to see her father, but decided that letting him cool his jets in prison was karmic justice.

The technique that Cologne wanted to teach her was called the Fire-Roasted Chestnut Fist. The training for it was like something her Pop would try. She had to practice snatching chestnuts from a fire until she could do it without getting burned. Ranma was a bit skeptical until Cologne demonstrated the technique to her. After trying and failing for a while, the old woman gave her some burn cream that helped her heal more quickly, but the first day's training left her unable to properly care for Tsukiko for a day. Trying to nurse a baby without using one's hands was incredibly awkward.

Ranma was nothing if not inventive and persistent when it came to training, so she spent the day she was healing looking for something to use as substitute training. To her way of thinking, there were two reasons to use the fire for the training: as incentive and as a benchmark to let you know if you had reached a certain speed. Ranma never really needed incentive to train to be the best, so that part of it did not figure into her search criteria. She wandered around the village until she spotted some Amazon children picking colored stones out of a stream.

She let Tsukiko sleep on a blanket nearby and concentrated on pulling the stones out of the stream without getting her hands wet. She had always been quick, but this technique called for an entirely new level of speed. There was nothing in either version of the training that taught her how to succeed, but her version did allow her to experiment and try different ideas more easily.

By the end of the first day at the stream, she had decided that the technique was impossible using conventional movement. She knew that it was possible to use one's ki to do techniques that defied the modern understanding of physics. She currently could use her ki to augment her strength and speed to levels greater than her muscles could naturally achieve. What she needed was a way to pattern her ki so that he arms did the technique without conscious input from her brain.

Her third full day in the village, when she was not actively taking care of Tsukiko, was spent studying how her ki moved when her arms moved.

Her fourth day was spent trying to strobe the pattern she had figured out. By the end of the day she was able to thrust her hands in and out of the water without them getting wet.

By midmorning on the fifth day she had figured out how to aim her strikes well enough that she could snag the stones from the water. She returned to the little fire pit that Cologne had showed her and successfully tried it with the chestnuts again.

"I'm impressed, Little Sister," Cologne said. "Most Amazons take years to learn this technique because they doggedly keep trying it the way we originally show them. Only the best see beyond that. You have a rare insight into ki techniques to be able to break down what was needed and to find a superior practice method on your own."

"Self defense," Ranma said. "Pop uses the same type of teaching methods, but he doesn't give me a year to figure it out.

"I was wondering if you could teach me how to make things appear out of nowhere like Shampoo did with her chui in our match."

"We call that technique Hidden Weapons," Cologne said. "It utilizes ki pockets to store items for later use. Most Amazons use that technique for a few items, but we have others that master it to the point that they carry dozen of weapons in them."

"I don't use weapons other than my own body," Ranma said, "but it would be useful to me for carrying things for Tsukiko or a change of clothes for my other form without having to worry about bags or anything like that." Ranma was thinking of using it to stash her bra when she was male, but was too embarrassed to give Cologne any specifics. There were some interesting possibilities in combining Hidden Weapons with the Chestnut Fist.

"Like with the Fire-Roasted Chestnut Fist," Cologne said, "the way of our Tribe is to tell you what's possible and then let you figure out how to actually do it. Part of the reason for this is that everyone's ki is different and the mental models that allow one person to control their ki are ill-suited for a different person. The other reason is that by figuring a technique out yourself, you make it truly your own."

Ranma looked at her suspiciously. "Don't think that I haven't figured you out—you just like watching people make fools of themselves."

Cologne cackled. "You are truly my sister to have figured me out so quickly."

Ranma rolled her eyes, but joined her in laughing.

"I will give you a hint concerning Hidden Weapons," Cologne said once she had stopped laughing. "At least to start, it's easiest to attach your ki pockets to openings such as a physical pocket or sleeve."

Ranma smiled. "Thanks, Cologne."

* * *

For the first part of the week, Shampoo avoided Ranma whenever she could. Ranma only ever saw her at mealtimes. Since Ranma was trying to build connections with the Amazons, she was cordial to the purple-haired girl even though she was standoffish. By the time that Ranma had learned the Chestnut Fist, Shampoo had started to warm up to her.

Two days before Ranma's father was due to be released, Cologne broached the subject of Shampoo accompanying Ranma when she returned to Japan.

"Why you send this one away, Great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked.

"It's not a punishment, Great-granddaughter," the old woman said. "It's an opportunity for you to learn about the outside world and gain new skills. It's also a chance to strengthen the ties our family and tribe have with the Little Dragon and her guardian."

"To be honest, I could use the help with Tsukiko," Ranma said. "I don't trust Pop to watch her properly and he'll insist I spend time training, which is something I'd like to be able to do anyway."

Ranma spent the last couple of days working on figuring out ki pockets and helping Napkin teach Shampoo how to care for a baby, and picking up more tips herself.

Tsukiko got used to Ranma's male form to the point that she no longer cried immediately upon him using hot water. The transformed dragon did definitely prefer Ranma to be female, however. That and avoiding marriage traps meant that Ranma spent the majority of his time as a woman. Although he enjoyed the Amazons well enough, he was anxious to get back on the road so he could spend more time as his normal self.


	4. Chapter 4: Avus Draconis

The morning of when her father was due to be let out, Ranma sat down to try and figure out how to get Tsukiko to change back to a dragon. She figured it would be required for her explanation of how she had acquired a baby. She had not done so up to this point because it was easier to handle her as a human baby and she had been busy learning how to be a mother and learning the Chestnut Fist and Hidden Weapons while she had Cologne available.

She sat and meditated about the ball of feelings in the back of her head. The ball never pushed words at her, just feelings. In the last day or so, images had started to come. Of course, the most common image was of Ranma's breasts, which always made her feel embarrassed when it happened.

She pushed an image of Tsukiko as she had been before the ritual at the ball of feelings. After about ten seconds, the baby shifted into her dragon form. Ranma smiled at her success. Tsukiko wrapped her tail around Ranma's waist.

Ranma stroked her daughter under her chin. Tsukiko's dragon scales were were softer than she had imagined a reptile's scales would be. She was also warmer, so Ranma decided that dragons must be warm-blooded too.

Shampoo came into the room. "Aunt Ranma!" she said. "This one is all ready to go!"

She and Shampoo were getting along much better now, but the Amazon always insisted on calling her "Aunt Ranma," even the time few times she had seen him in his birth form. Ranma figured it was a last act of revenge for her winning the fight. At least she had convinced her that calling her "Great-grandaunt" was ridiculous.

"Oh, Little Dragon is a dragon now!" Shampoo exclaimed.

"I figured it would make explanations to Pop easier if I could figure out how to ask her to change."

"Why explain Little Dragon to Panda?" Shampoo asked. "Just tell Panda what to do."

Ranma chuckled. "It will probably come down to that, but I want to get all the surprises out of the way first."

She concentrated and pushed an image of Tsukiko as a human baby at the ball of feelings. To her relief, her daughter changed back to human after just a short delay.

"Let's go meet your grandpa, Tsukiko," she told her daughter.

* * *

Ranma steeled herself for the coming confrontation. She knew this would be difficult and involve many insults. Dealing with her father always was and did. She approached the prison cell carrying a pot filled with hot water. The pot allowed her to carry it easily one-handed since she had Tsukiko in her other arm.

The panda watched her carefully as she approached. He pulled out a sign that read, **Boy! Get me out of here!**

She flung the water from the pot at him and then set down the pot.

"Boy!" her father exclaimed. "Why are you still a weak girl!? Change back and help me get out of here!"

"You would think you would be more polite to someone you want to help you, Pop," she said. She couldn't help but get the dig in at him. The guards snickered in amusement.

He yelled insults at her for a full minute before finally calming down. Finally, he said, "Ranma, will you please get me out of here?"

"As it happens, Pop," she said. "I have managed to secure your release from the Amazons, but I asked them to let us talk before they let you out. You tend to not listen to me a whole lot and this way I have your undivided attention."

Her father folded his arms and frowned at her. "Fine. Talk. And while your at it you can explain why you're still a girl, why you're holding a baby, and what happened to your hair."

Ranma laughed. "All of those things are on the agenda, Pop. First, I'm a girl to reduce the chance of ending up in an unintended marriage. The Amazons seem nice, but they have some odd customs from a Japanese point of view. One of my Amazon friends recommended I stay a girl in public while I'm here to avoid something called the Kiss of Marriage."

Her father paled at the mention of the Kiss of Marriage and nodded quickly.

"As for the baby and the hair, it all started while I was chasing you for the boneheaded idea of us training at Jusenkyo." She went on to explain her encounter with the Musk and the dragon, how the dragon had petitioned her to save her daughter and she had excepted because her honor gave her no alternative, and how she had undergone the bonding ritual in order to prevent the baby dragon from growing up a dumb animal which had changed her hair color in her female form.

"Pop, meet your granddaughter, Saotome Tsukiko," she said, holding her daughter up to the bars of the cell. "Tsukiko, meet your grandfather, Saotome Genma."

Her father stared at the baby for a few moments before saying, "The baby is really a dragon?"

"Yep," she replied. "Watch."

She sent the signal to Tsukiko that she wanted her to change. Her daughter did so, quicker than she had previously.

Her father stared at the baby silver dragon and finally said, "Son, I'm proud of you for intervening on behalf of the dragon, but there's no place in the life of an aspiring Martial Artist for a baby, human or otherwise. You'll need to leave her with these Amazons."

Ranma sent Tsukiko the signal to change back to human. "She's your granddaughter in a very real sense, Pop, since her human form is based on mine. Would you really leave your granddaughter to be raised by strangers? Also the link that I talked about is very real; it's what allowed me to direct her to change. It would distress both of us greatly if I left her behind."

Her father looked indecisive. This was actually going better than she had thought it would. It was nice to know that her father was not an actual thoughtless monster.

"Besides," she added harshly. "I'm not asking you for permission, I'm telling you what's going to happen. If you don't accept your granddaughter, you'll lose your son."

"Ranma, if you do this, I don't want it to affect your training," he growled at her.

She shook her head. "It can't help but affect it a little, but you know me, Pop. I'm nothing if not dedicated to the Art. I'll make it work."

"Fine," he said grudgingly. "Get me out of here. We need to head back to Japan. We have some business there that's becoming past due."

"Alright," Ranma said. "I have just one more thing to say. The dragon had connections to an Amazon family. I've renewed those connections and become the honorary sister of one of the Amazon elders. She has a great-granddaughter that has chosen to come with us. She'll help me with Tsukiko and she's skilled in the Art, so she can also help me train. I've already picked up one new technique from them and I'm working on a second."

"She's not going to try and give you that Kiss of Marriage, is she?" her father asked suspiciously.

Ranma rolled her eyes. "The Amazons take even honorary family relationships seriously. She can hardly give her 'aunt' the Kiss of Marriage."

"Fine she can come along, as long as she doesn't slow us down or get any ideas," her father said.

"Again, I'm not asking permission," she told him.

"Don't get uppity, Boy!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, by the way, Pop," Ranma said with a smirk, "they'll be by for the last part of your punishment soon."

"Punishment?" her father yelled. "What are you talking about? You said they were going to let me go!? Boy!?"

She laughed as she walked out of the jail.

* * *

Ranma went back to Cologne's house to feed Tsukiko before they left.

Cologne was waiting for her. "I found your birth certificate hidden in your father's pack. I can duplicate it to make one for your female form in order to make things easier for you. I just need a name."

Ranma sighed. It was a good idea, but she did not really like it. After a moment of thought, she rembered that one of her old friends had always called her Ranchan. She would not object so much if she could keep the first part of her name. Ranma meant wild horse. Maybe Rantatsu? Wild dragon. Yes, she thought that was appropriate, even if it sounded like a male name. That was fine with her, she was never going to be more than a tomboy when she was a girl.

"Saotome Rantatsu," she said.

Cologne nodded. She placed Ranma's birth certificate in between two plates and placed a blank piece of paper below them. As Ranma watched, her birth certificate appeared on the top plate. She made note of her mother's name: Nodoka. Her father never told her much about her.

Cologne took a special brush and used it to erase Ranma's given name and gender from the plate. She took a different brush and drew the kanji for her new name and gender. Looking at new birth certificate, the old woman then altered her birth weight and length by a few grams and centimeters, respectively. Now satisfied, she tapped the four corners of the plate and the image on it disappeared. She removed Ranma's original birth certificate and the other paper. She showed Ranma that the paper was now a birth certificate for Saotome Rantatsu.

"Let me copy this so I can plant it in the appropriate records office," Cologne said.

"You're going to Japan too?" Ranma asked surprised.

Cologne cackled in amusement. "I won't be traveling with you, but I thought I would help you out, Little Sister. It's been too long since I've left the village. This little project will keep me amused for a short time. I might catch up to you and Shampoo, depending on what's going on.

"The only other thing we need to talk about is what kind of documents you want created for Tsukiko. I can make a valid Chinese birth certificate for her, but we need to decide on who to list as her parents. We can also give you a certificate of adoption, but there are some problems with that."

"My age and marital status," Ranma said.

Cologne nodded. "It wouldn't be a problem if you stayed here, but Chinese customs will hassle you about it leaving the country and if you snuck by them, Japanese social services might try and take her away.

"Since she looks like you, we could pass her off as your child, which would solve those problems. I can covertly file the appropriate paperwork at the embassy to make sure Tsukiko is considered Japanese born in another country. If we did this, then no one could take her away from you."

"Let's do that then," Ranma said. "That just leaves what to put as her father on the birth certificate."

"You have three choices, Little Sister," Cologne said. "You can have Tsukiko be the result of an indiscretion, a rape, or a short-lived marriage. I'd recommend that the father be listed as deceased in any case to tie up loose ends."

Ranma did not want the pity or the stigma of being a rape victim, especially if it wasn't true. She also didn't want Tsukiko to end up with the stigma of being illegitimate. As odd as it seemed to her, out of the three choices, being married at 15 was the most acceptable of them.

"I'll do the short-lived marriage," she said with a sigh.

"I'll draw up a local marriage certificate and death certificate for your 'husband,'" Cologne said. "What do you want to call him?"

"Can we name him after Mithril?" Ranma asked with a smirk.

"How about we call him Draco Mitrili," Cologne said with a matching smirk. "He can be an Italian expatriate and we can have him marry into your family so that you don't have to change names."

"Does it matter that I'm a virgin?" Ranma said nervously. "Napkin said that doctors can tell." It had been part of Napkin's lecture on feminine hygiene once the Amazon mother had realized how new to being a woman she was.

"It probably wouldn't come up," Cologne said, "but it's best to be safe. I can remove your hymen with a quick medical procedure. Women who exercise vigorously sometimes naturally lose it, but you've been a woman so short a time that yours is almost certainly intact."

Ranma vacillated, but Cologne dragged her away purposefully.

* * *

Ranma shuddered. She could deal with the small pain easily, but the embarrassment and _weirdness. . ._ She shuddered again. Nobody was ever putting _anything_ in there again.

She had declined to see her father whipped and was waiting for him at the village gates with Shampoo. She had a copy of her real (male) birth certificate, her forged female birth certificate, Tsukiko's birth certificate, her fake marriage certificate, and her fake husband's death certificate in her pack.

Her father stumbled out of the gate and glared at her, Shampoo, and the village before silently heading away. Ranma shrugged at Shampoo and both of them followed him. They ran for half an hour before her father stopped and glared at her again.

"Boy!" he yelled. "Why didn't you intervene on my behalf?"

Tsukiko shifted in her arms and Ranma scowled at her father.

"I did intervene," she said. "Why else would they let you go without removing one of your thieving hands?" She did not know if the Amazon's used that punishment or not, but neither did her father.

"You didn't try hard enough!" he yelled again. "Since you failed, carry my pack!"

"Can't," Ranma said, nodding toward her daughter. "My hands are full."

"Have your servant do it then!" her father exclaimed.

"She's not my servant, Pop," Ranma said. "She's my friend."

"This one not carry pack of thief!" Shampoo yelled.

"Have your _friend_ carry the baby then," her father said.

"Can't," Ranma said, starting to unbutton her shirt. "She's hungry." It was a small lie. Tsukiko was not complaining yet, but it had been long enough that she could eat. Her father was _not_ getting out of any of his punishment.

"What's this?!" her father exclaimed, his eyes bulging.

"Haven't you ever seen a mother feed her baby, Pop?" Ranma said with a smirk.

"But. . . but. . ." her father stammered, his face pale.

Ranma rolled her eyes as she removed the pad from one of her bra cups and deftly uncovered that breast and inserted it in her baby's mouth. "The dragon made it so I could take care of her baby, Pop."

"Stop that immediately, boy!" her father screeched. "No son of mine will ever do anything so unmanly!"

"Well it's a good thing I happen to be your daughter at the moment, isn't it?" Ranma said snidely.

"I have no daughter," her father roared.

"Not according to official records," Ranma said. "Belated congratulations on the birth of your daughter sixteen years ago: Saotome Rantatsu, twin sister of Saotome Ranma, mother of Saotome Tsukiko, and recent widow of Saotome Mitrili who was born Draco Mitrili. The Amazons have already put the paperwork in place." The Japanese documents would take time for Cologne to "file," but she was not going to point that out to her father.

Her father gaped at her.

"You really think I'm going to let either the Chinese or Japanese governments take my daughter away from me because of an illegal adoption, do you?" she said with a glare. "Her human form is based on mine too, so you can forget about dropping a complaint with immigration or child services about child stealing. She'll easily pass blood and gene tests as my daughter."

A brief guilty look passed over her father's face. She fought down the momentary impulse to disembowel him with her claws. Something must have shown in her face, because her father backed up waving his hands frantically.

"Wouldn't it be easier if you fed her with a bottle?" her father said. "Even if you're legally two people, you wouldn't want any weak, womanly habits to infect you."

She rolled her eyes. "Pop, nursing is free and takes no preparation. Bottles are only easier in that they mean that you or Shampoo could feed her, but do you know how expensive baby formula is?" Ranma did not know herself, but seeing how poor they were, it was not even that much of a bluff.

"Fine!" her father shouted, "but don't think I'll allow you to use this as an excuse to hide as a weak girl and slack off on training!"

Ranma rolled her eyes again. "Pop, the dragon used magic to show me what giving birth was like. You'll never convince me that women are inherently weak."

Her father growled and started walking away, his pack in his hands.

She laughed softly and followed him. Nursing while walking was a little awkward, but she figured it out quickly.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Avus is the Latin word for grandfather. Genma won't actually be called Avus Draconis in story, but I thought it was appropriate for a chapter title.

This Ranma is a more clever conversationalist than in canon. This is partly an influence from being dragon-blooded, but mostly from being more motivated to watch what he/she says.


	5. Chapter 5: Welcome to Nerima

It took three months for them to reach the coast. The trip took half again as long as it could have between Ranma wanting to go slower for Tsukiko's sake and his father wanting to go slower in order to spend a lot of time sparring. Ranma spent more time as a woman than he strictly wanted to, but his daughter was happier when he was a she and he could not deny her. His father insisted on lots of sparring because the spars were the only time that Ranma was guaranteed to be in his birth form. In addition to sparring with his father as a man, he also sparred with Shampoo as a woman while Tsukiko was sleeping in the evenings. Shampoo insisted that he needed to become used to fighting in his female body. After some thought Ranma decided that she was right since he was spending so much time as a woman for Tsukiko's sake.

When they stopped to rest at the seashore, Ranma took the opportunity to feed Tsukiko. She was surprised and upset that her father expected them to swim to Japan.

"We can't swim with a baby, Pop!" she yelled.

"Boy!" her father bellowed. "Not only is swimming cheaper, it's great training! You said the baby wouldn't affect your training!"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Tsukiko doesn't get in the way of reasonable training, Pop."

"How can you expect to be a great martial artist by staying with the reasonable?!" her father asked. He gestured wildly and said, "Can't you change her into a dragon and have her ride on your back?"

Ranma rolled her eyes again and said, "Even as a dragon she's still a baby. She couldn't hold on for the day or so it would take, even stopping in Korea. Besides, she would need to eat several times before we got there and I couldn't exactly feed her while she's a dragon."

Her father grumbled about the time and expense to find a ship willing to take them but relented. After Ranma was finished nursing, he decided to take them south toward Shanghai.

* * *

The closeness that had begun to develop between Ranma and Shampoo before they left the Amazon village had deepened over the course of the three months. Shampoo had begun to teach him Mandarin and he had begun to help her speak Japanese more correctly. She had been under the mistaken impression that Japanese men would think her baby talk was cute.

"Not the type of men that you would like," Ranma had told her.

There were only two aspects of their relationship that bothered Ranma. The minor issue was that Shampoo always called him "Aunt Ranma" no matter his gender at the time. The larger issue was that Shampoo always seemed somewhat uncomfortable and standoffish whenever he was in his birth form.

Shampoo had explained that it was not proper for Amazon men and women to be that friendly unless they were courting or married and that there was a certain distance between relatives of different genders.

A couple days after they had reached the coast, Ranma asked if they could be sisters rather than aunt and niece.

"You want to be this one's sister?" Shampoo asked, slightly shocked.

"Of course, Shampoo," Ranma replied. "Aren't we friends?" She rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know how it is in the Amazon village, but I think we're closer than an honorary aunt and niece." She laughed softly. "Besides, it always makes me feel strange to be called 'Aunt Ranma' by a girl my age. I feel too young to be Tsukiko's mother much less have a teenage niece."

"Sisters are special in the Tribe of Hero Women—not just friends," Shampoo said. "If we are sisters we fight together, watch each others backs, share secrets."

Ranma looked at her friend who was staring at her intently. She looked down at her daughter who was resting in her arms. She looked back at Shampoo and told her softly, "I already trust you to look after my most important treasure."

Shampoo wrapped her in a soft hug. Ranma was grateful to be holding Tsukiko, otherwise she probably would have been on the receiving end of a bone-crushing hug.

After Shampoo released her, Ranma said, "Can you call me 'brother' when I'm in my other body?"

The Amazon frowned. "Hero Women are not close to their brothers."

The silver-haired girl thought for a second. "When you call me 'brother' it can be the same as calling me 'sister.' I only ask you to do it so that you don't look like an ignorant yokel."

Shampoo frowned again. "A Hero Woman does not care what Outsiders think of them."

"Can you do it for me then, Sister?" Ranma asked. "I'm still getting used to being both a man and a woman. It would make me feel better to be called a man while I am one."

Shampoo smiled. "For you, Sister, this one will do it."

* * *

It took another month for Ranma's father to find someone willing to take them to Japan. By that time, Tsukiko was starting to crawl around in both her human and dragon forms. According to Shampoo, the baby looked like she was about six months old. Ranma had started feeding her some ground-up rice as well as mashed up fruit when they could get some. Shampoo had some money hidden in a ki pocket that Ranma's father could not get at that they used to get some food when they were near a village. Once Ranma fed her a bit of chicken when she was a dragon, but she and Shampoo thought it was better to save their money for cheaper food until they knew what her father's plan was.

Ranma's father was mostly resigned to his new granddaughter. He still grumbled quite a bit, but Ranma caught him smiling at the baby when he thought no one was looking at him.

The images that Tsukiko sent Ranma had become more varied and more detailed. The baby also responded better to images and concepts that Ranma sent her. Ranma was proud of the progress her daughter was making, but was still disturbed by the fact that the transformed dragon sent images of her breasts more than anything.

When they were camping in the country, Ranma had Tsukiko transform into her natural state and spend an hour or two each day as a dragon to get used to her original body. Unfortunately, they were not able to do this when they were staying in a town or village.

Ranma as a woman was now several centimeters taller than she had been when she left the Amazon village and was still growing. She was still shorter than Shampoo and her own birth body, but she was hoping that she would eventually be taller than the Amazon. She was now as strong in her female body as she was in her male body and much quicker without drawing on any ki. Immediately after becoming dragon-blooded she had thought that it had boosted her strength significantly. What becoming dragon-blooded had initially done was boost her ki enough that she had not felt the drain on it while boosting her strength and speed. Now after four months, her natural strength and speed were much higher than originally due to an increased efficiency in her muscles. The only thing that had carried over to his male form was a portion of her increased ki reserves. He would have to talk to Cologne to figure out why some, but not all, of her increase in ki from being dragon-blooded carried over.

With a small amount of guidance from Shampoo, she had figured out how to reliably store things in ki pockets. Shampoo warned her that the more she stored in the ki pockets, the less ki she would have available for other skills. She told him that Mousse put so much ki into Hidden Weapons that it was the only ki technique he could use other than a small boost to his speed.

* * *

Ranma's father led them to the Nerima Ward of Tokyo. Since it was drizzling, both Ranma and her father were in their alternate forms. She was using an umbrella for Tsukiko's sake, but that did not stop her from getting splashed. Usually when it rained she intentionally let herself get wet in order to prevent the inevitable accident from getting her daughter too.

Ranma was somewhat curious as to what her father's latest scheme was, but not too much. He knew the rules: none of his schemes were allowed to affect Tsukiko negatively or Ranma and Shampoo would beat him within a centimeter of his life.

They stopped in front of a sign that read:

 **Tendo Dojo**

 **School of Indiscriminate Grappling**

 **To face the proprietor in savage combat, enter through the rear.**

Ranma was vaguely interested to see that the name of the school was the same as their own. She wondered if they were here to challenge them for the name or if it was someone her father had trained with.

"Why are we here, Pop?" she asked.

Since her father could not speak as a panda, he held up a sign that said, **We have business with my old training buddy, Tendo Soun.**

"It's just as well we're stopping," Ranma said. "Tsukiko's getting hungry."

Her father scowled at the announcement, which was something he had not done for months concerning nursing her daughter. That triggered a warning for Ranma.

She sighed. Might as well get it over with. "No use standing out here."

Her father knocked on the door, but Ranma shoved him out of the way.

"They're going to want to talk to a human, Pop," she told him.

A dark-haired girl with a bob haircut wearing a fancy yukata answered the door.

"Yes?" the girl said with a slight frown.

"My name is Saotome Rantatsu," Ranma answered with a bow, "and this is my daughter, Tsukiko, and my friend and honorary sister, Shampoo of the Amazons. My father, Saotome Genma, said we have business with Tendo Soun."

A tall man with a mustache wearing a gi appeared behind the girl.

"Saotome?" he asked eagerly. "Where's Ranma?"

Ranma's bad feeling increased with the mention of her real name. Two other young women had appeared behind the man. They appeared to be the older and younger sister of the first girl. She waved a hand negligently. "My brother's around somewhere. If this is about some debt Pop has racked up, you'll have to beat it out of the Old Man yourself. Neither of us take responsibility for Pop."

The man, probably Tendo Soun himself, said, "This is about something much more important and honorable than some debt! Do you know when Ranma or your father will be here?"

"Pop will be here sooner than you'd think," Ranma said with a shrug. She had no interest in telling the man about her curse and outing herself as Ranma.

She glanced at her father. He was holding a sign that said, **Hot water!**

"Is that your panda?" asked the first girl.

"I claim no responsibility for him," she told her. "He just seems to follow us around."

A greedy smile played over the other girl's features as she stared at the panda with avarice. The panda continued to present his sign, but nobody moved to give him any hot water.

The other two sisters approached Ranma and Shampoo. The younger one said, "Hi, I'm Tendo Akane and this is my oldest sister Kasumi." The four girls exchanged bows. "Our other sister, Nabiki, is the one plotting how to make money from the panda."

She asked Shampoo, "You're an Amazon? What does that mean?"

"This one is a warrior of the Tribe of Hero Women," explained Shampoo. Her Japanese had improved dramatically since they started practicing, but her speech was still idiosyncratic. "Sister calls us Amazons because she says there are other women heroes."

"I should hope so," said Akane. "What do you mean by warrior? Do you mean martial artist?"

Shampoo shrugged. "This one is proficient in the art of war, but Sister says that you mean something different."

"Shampoo comes from a wild part of China where life and death battles still happen," Ranma explained. "Warriors in her tribe are expected to kill when necessary, where a martial artist avoids it."

Kasumi briefly grimaced while Akane looked uncertain for a moment before saying, "Well, I'm a martial artist, Shampoo. Would you care for a non-life-or-death practice spar?"

She smiled tentatively at the purple-haired girl.

Shampoo smiled and nodded in return and said, "That would please this one. Sister calls herself a martial artist too. She is very good, but it would be pleasing to practice against someone else."

Akane led Shampoo around the side of the house to the dojo. Ranma and Kasumi followed.

"How old is your baby, Rantatsu?" Kasumi asked.

"About six months," Ranma answered.

"She's very cute," the other woman said. "Is the unusual hair color that the two of you share common in your family?"

Ranma shrugged. "Pop never talks about our family much, so I couldn't tell you. His and Ranma's hair is black."

"I'm a little surprised that Ranma isn't here," Kasumi said.

"Why?" Ranma asked.

"You'd think he would be curious about his fiancée," she said.

"What!?" Ranma shrieked.

Tsukiko squawked in protest at the loud noise. Ranma quickly murmured soothing noises and comforted her through their link. Once the baby was calmed down, she said to Kasumi, "What's this about Ranma being engaged? Pop never said anything about that."

"I don't know a lot," Kasumi admitted. "Father only told us earlier today after he received a post card. Supposedly this engagement has been promised since even before Akane was born and is a way to unite the different schools of Indiscriminate Grappling."

"Which one of you is it?" Ranma asked.

"It hasn't been decided yet," Kasumi said.

Tsukiko was definitely hungry, so once they entered the dojo, Ranma knelt down and began to nurse her while Akane and Shampoo agreed on an anything goes unarmed spar. Kasumi knelt beside her.

Akane was a decent martial artist—much better than someone trained at one of the commodity dojos—but she was slow compared to Shampoo and she put too much power into her strikes. This left her open to Shampoo's counterattacks. The Amazon dominated the spar, but was kind enough not to rub Akane's face in it, somewhat to the surprise of Ranma who expected her to be contemptuous of an Outsider.

After two matches, Akane called a halt. "You're very good, Shampoo," she said. "I'm glad none of the boys around here are as good as you."

Shampoo flicked a glance at Ranma before asking, "Why is that?"

Ranma smirked. She usually fought Shampoo as a woman because her she needed the practice in her alternate form and her father disliked it. They occasionally fought with Ranma in her birth form, but it made Shampoo uncomfortable; she was almost as prejudiced against men as Ranma's father was against women and losing to a man made her irritable—even if the man was sometimes a woman. Ranma made her do it in order to shake things up. It was the same reason she sometimes picked fights with her pop as a woman. Whenever either of the two made disparaging remarks against the opposite sex, she made sure to "schedule" a beatdown. Not surprisingly, Shampoo figured this out and moderated her comments much sooner than Ranma's pop.

Akane grimaced. "All the boys at school are idiots. The head idiot proclaimed that anyone who beats me in a fight gets to date me. No amount of protest will convince them otherwise. Luckily, I'm the best at school."

Shampoo looked confused. Ranma chuckled and said, "No Shampoo. That's not normal for Japan. There is no 'Kiss of Marriage' here." She asked the Tendo sisters, "Why hasn't anyone put a stop to it?"

"While technically it's against the rules," Kasumi said, "the Kuno family—the family of the 'head idiot'—is too influential. Neither the school or the police will go against them. Father has just enough influence to keep us from getting hit with a slander suit for even suggesting there's a problem. Nabiki has suggested submitting the problem to the national news in order to make it something the Kunos couldn't cover up, but father is against airing our problems for the entire country to see."

"Frankly, I'm surprised she hasn't gone behind his back to sell the story," Akane grumbled.

Kasumi frowned faintly and Akane looked repentant. "I'm sure Nabiki wouldn't disobey one of Father's direct orders concerning the family."

Akane snorted indelicately. "Maybe not openly."

At that moment the Tendo patriarch entered the dojo with Ranma's father in human form and Nabiki trailing him. The two men looked pleased with themselves and Nabiki looked thoughtful.

"Good news girls," Tendo said. "Ranma is here after all."

At that moment, Ranma noticed that her father was hiding something behind his back. In one smooth motion he flung water out of a kettle at her. She had just enough time to turn on her knees and shield Tsukiko from getting wet. Her bond with her daughter, which was at its most active while she was nursing, snapped suddenly as she became a he. Tsukiko started to wail at having her meal interrupted and her close communion with her mother broken so suddenly.

Ranma was suddenly embraced by the Tendo patriarch, who shouted, "Ranma! Son!"

Ranma knew dozens of ways to escape from the older man, but none of them were appropriate while he was holding his already frightened and screaming daughter unless it was life or death.

"Get off!" he snarled. He tried to control his temper because it would only further upset Tsukiko.

Shampoo began to move toward them. Kasumi looked horrified. Nabiki looked intrigued. Akane looked disgusted. His father looked pleased with himself.

Kasumi spoke before Shampoo could tear the older man off of him. "Father, let go and stop embarrassing our family."

All three of the Tendos looked shocked at the words of the oldest daughter. Tendo released Ranma, who stood up and tried to comfort his still screaming daughter. He looked around for some water, but did not see any.

"Kasumi, can you show me where I can get some cold water?" he asked.

"Certainly," Kasumi said. "Follow me."

She led him into the house and into the kitchen. "Would you like it in a glass?" she asked.

"Nah," he said, "the sink will do."

He turned on the water and then splashed himself, carefully avoiding getting his baby wet. With the return of his female form and her link to her daughter, Tsukiko's screaming reduced in intensity. She sent comforting thoughts toward her and resumed feeding her.

"How. . .?" Kasumi asked.

Ranma sighed. "Let's go back and I'll explain to everyone. For what it's worth, I'm sorry your family has been caught up in one of Pop's schemes."

Kasumi led her back to the dojo where Akane was yelling at her father. "I am not marrying that perverted freak!"

Upon seeing her, Tendo's face lit up and he said, "Ah, Ranma. There was no need to leave. You could have had your gaijin companion take care of the gaijin child."

"My _adopted sister_ is not able to feed _my_ _daughter_ ," Ranma responded firmly, trying to contain her irritation for Tsukiko's sake.

Tendo's face flashed with confusion before he said, "Ah, your father has told me that you decided to foster the little girl. He also assured me that neither that nor your horrible curse to turn into a girl with cold water would interfere with you performing your duty to your own family and mine. My daughters: Kasumi, age 19; Nabiki, age 17; and Akane, age 16." He gestured to each girl as said their names. "Pick the one you want and she'll be your fiancée!"

Akane once again got an ugly look on her face and opened her mouth in obvious protest. Before she could say anything, however, Kasumi said, "I'll do it."

"What!?" exclaimed Nabiki.

"What!?" protested Akane.

"What!?" exclaimed Ranma.


	6. Chapter 6: Explanations

Kasumi calmly stated, "As the oldest daughter it is my responsibility to honor the family marriage commitment."

Nabiki simply shrugged her shoulders and turned to look at Akane who looked torn between disbelief and outrage.

Disbelief seemed to have won, at least momentarily, for Akane. "What about Dr. Tofu!?" she exclaimed. She then covered her mouth with her hand and her expression shifted to one of chagrin. Evidently, she had not meant to say that.

Kasumi giggled delicately behind her own hand and said, "Dr. Tofu is a nice man, but he's much too silly for a real relationship. I'd prefer a more mature man, even without the family commitment."

Akane's hand dropped and she looked at her sister in disbelief. She rallied and exclaimed, "But you can't marry _that!_ It's a pervert!"

"Oy!" Ranma exclaimed. "I'm not a pervert and I certainly don't appreciate being called 'that' or 'it!' Either call me by my current gender or refer to me as a man all the time." Ranma resisted the urge to insult Akane in return. Her numerous talks with Cologne and Napkin had told her that Tsukiko needed stability. Burning bridges with Tendos would not be a good idea, no matter how much she wanted to wipe the self-righteous look off of the youngest Tendo's face. If it were, just herself. . .

Nabiki snorted. "You're looking real manly nursing your baby, _Rantatsu_."

Akane looked at him disdainfully. "You claim to have been born a boy, but have immersed yourself in the most womanly activity possible. Therefore, pervert. You're probably just using the poor baby as an excuse to play with your girl parts."

A deep growl forced itself out of Ranma's chest as Akane's accusations angered her. The agitation from Tsukiko over their link made her get it under control. "My condition is _not_ my fault. _Pop_ was the one who took us there without understanding what the consequences would be. _Pop_ was the one who knocked me into that pool. Tsukiko has special needs that required a magical adoption because her birth mother was dying and I was the only one who was available. Once that happened, I'm now the only one that can properly take care of her. I'm not really comfortable with spending all this time as a woman, but it's better than letting Tsukiko die or become a slave of the Musk. Because of that, I can't regret it. Don't you dare accuse me of some sort of sexual deviation just because I need to feed my daughter!"

Akane looked a combination of angry and embarrassed at being called out.

"Special needs? Magical adoption?" Nabiki drawled.

"Compared to changing gender with different temperatures of water?" Ranma replied archly. "Is it really so unbelievable?"

Nabiki shrugged and asked, "What special needs?"

Ranma shrugged in response. "Members of her family develop special bonds with their mothers. It's nothing that should affect you or your family."

"Whatever you say, Ranchan," Nabiki drawled.

Ranma started at hearing the nickname that her buddy Ukyo used to call her, but got herself under control quickly. She knew that Nabiki was trying to get a rise out of her. Using "chan" for her was insulting because on the one hand as a mother she socially outranked Nabiki who was just a teenage girl and on the other hand it was usually not used for a teenage male except as an insult. If it _had_ been her old friend saying it, she would have been fine with it due to the nostalgia, but it irritated her that Nabiki did it, especially in that manner. While Ranma did not understand most social interaction well, if there was one thing she _did_ understand, it was insults. She also knew that there were consequences for responding to the insult and for not responding. In this case, she felt it was best to not respond.

Mr. Tendo cleared his throat and said happily, "It's settled then! Ranma will marry Kasumi. I'll send for the priest!"

Ranma opened her mouth to protest being pushed into marriage, but Kasumi spoke first. "How old are you, Ranma?"

"Sixteen," she responded.

Kasumi turned to her father and said, "Ranma can't get married until seventeen, even with parental permission. That's assuming that the Diet doesn't change the age limit before then, like they've been talking about doing."

"What!?" exclaimed both fathers.

Ranma rolled her eyes. It figured that her father had not researched marriage laws before trying to push her into one.

"But what about the stigma of being an unwed parent?" Mr. Tendo protested. "Surely we can get an exception for that."

Ranma cleared her throat and said, "I have documentation that says that I, as Saotome Rantatsu, married Draco Mitrili who is recently deceased."

"You got married as a woman!?" Akane asked with disgust.

Ranma shook her head. "Draco Mitirli is a slightly altered form of Tsukiko's birth mother's name. Shampoo's great-grandmother created the documentation for me and filed it with the Japanese consulate so that my daughter would be a Japanese citizen and not illegitimate."

"But Kasumi just said you were too young to get married!" Akane protested.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders. "China has different rules."

"Even in Japan, a woman can get married at fifteen," Kasumi added.

"What about Tsukiko's father?" Nabiki asked curiously.

"Dead before she was born," Ranma said. She was not sure if that were the case, but it may as well be. She did not want to explain anything about dragon gestational periods to the Tendos at this point—or anything about dragons, really. "That region of China is dangerous."

"Is too, too true," Shampoo added. "Hero Women train very hard to fight off raiders. Is worse now that Musk out of hiding."

Tsukiko had finished nursing, so Ranma wiped her off and laid a cloth on her shoulder and began to burp her.

Ranma sighed to herself and said, "I'd like to speak to Kasumi in private before I commit to anything.

"Boy!" her father yelled. "You're already committed. You will do this for our family's honor!"

Ranma turned and stared unblinkingly at her father. She had noticed that doing so unnerved him.

After about fifteen seconds, he broke. "Fine! Talk to her!" he snapped. "But don't think this changes anything! Family honor must be satisfied! The Schools must be joined!"

Ranma gestured for Kasumi to lead the way. The older girl opened the door and walked out of the dojo and then into the house.

"We can talk in my room," Kasumi said.

"Do you mind if I change first?" Ranma asked. "I feel like this is too awkward a conversation to have between two girls."

Kasumi turned to face her. "I don't know if it would be proper for us to be alone in my room like that," she said hesitantly.

Ranma rolled her eyes. "We won't be alone. I'm hardly going to ravish you in front of my daughter."

Kasumi still looked apprehensive, but lead her to the kitchen where a kettle sat on the stove.

"Can I have a cup, please?" Ranma asked.

"Certainly," Kasumi said as she pulled one out of a cupboard.

Ranma filled the cup about two thirds full of water from the kettle and then filled it the rest of the way from the sink. She placed her hand into the cup and felt the change to her birth form. Tsukiko squirmed slightly before settling down. She did not exactly like it when Ranma was a man, but she did not fuss much anymore—unless it interrupted her feeding or if either of them was excited or agitated when their link cut out.

Kasumi led him upstairs and past rooms with her sister's names on them. Kasumi's room was a nice moderate-sized room with a Western-style bed, a dresser with a mirror above it, and a little end table with a lamp on it next to her bed.

There were not any chairs and Ranma wanted to face her so that she could watch her expressions, so he said, "Do you mind if we kneel?"

"That would be agreeable," Kasumi responded.

They knelt facing each other on the tatami mats next to Kasumi's bed, Ranma still holding Tsukiko on his shoulder.

Ranma tried to think of how to start this conversation. He was a little lost on what to do. If it were just him, he would have tried to sink the engagement, because he honestly was not ready for that kind of commitment. However, with Tsukiko to look after, he had to consider whether playing along with the engagement for now would bring them some temporary stability. But even if it did, he did not want to string Kasumi along. While he did not have a problem with letting her making her own assumptions regarding his level of commitment, he did not want to actually tell her he would marry her when he had no intention of doing so. Come to think of it, did the offer of marriage come with an offer of a place to stay? No one had said, but he was pretty sure his pop was counting on it.

"First of all, I hate to start off like this, but do you know how long your father was intending on us to stay?" he asked.

"He asked me to prepare the guest room for long term usage," she responded. "I believe he intends for you to be guests until we marry and then you would settle here permanently in order to run the dojo."

Ranma mulled things over in his mind. Maybe he could propose a trial period? But first he wanted to know why she had agreed to it. If he viewed conversations as if they were battles of will, like Cologne said he should, then he could have sworn that Kasumi's sisters had expected her to dodge the engagement and Nabiki in particular had been expecting to deflect the commitment on down the line. Anyone that he married would have to treat Tsukiko right. He refused to compromise on this, no matter what his pop thought. How could he get her to tell him what he needed to know? If he were to categorize the sisters based on first impressions, Nabiki seemed shifty and rather full of herself; Akane seemed blunt and opinionated; Kasumi herself seemed polite and gentle, at least on the surface. Was that gentleness more than skin deep? And was she the type of woman Ranma wanted as his wife and the co-parent of his daughter and any future children? If he were honest with himself, he had never thought of what type of woman he wanted to marry before. It had not even occurred to him that women were different from each other before he had visited the Amazon village.

"I'm not sure what to do here," he admitted rather than prolonging the silence.

"What is there to know?" she asked calmly. "Family honor requires that we marry."

He quirked an eyebrow. "So you're saying that we have to get married just because our fathers say so?"

"Well, they are the heads of our families," she replied.

He rubbed Tsukiko's back. "I've started my own family already."

A hint of a smile peaked through Kasumi's calm façade. Ranma was not sure if it was because she thought his efforts to dodge responsibility were funny or some other reason. "He's still the head of your clan."

Ranma started at that. "You know, I'm not sure if he is or not. It's just always been the two of us on our training journey and he never wants to talk about any family."

"Surely he is," Kasumi said, "or he could not have entered into the agreement with my father."

Ranma laughed. "Things like propriety have never stopped Pop from doing what he wanted or making claims."

Kasumi frowned, but did not say anything. It seemed like she was too polite to scold him directly for something she clearly did not approve of.

He sighed. "I would hope that you would speak your mind to me—especially when we're in private, Kasumi."

She smiled at him tentatively and then lowered her eyes and said, "Don't you think it's rude to talk about your father like that?"

Ranma laughed. He decided that if he were to have any hope of having a happy marriage with Kasumi, they both had to know the lay of the land going into things. "I think it's only fair to warn you how Pop is. You do intend to marry into the family, don't you?"

When Kasumi's frown made a reappearance, Ranma said, "Look, I know I'm not the most polished guy around. Pop hasn't taught me anything other than martial arts. I'm very good at that, but I don't know much else other than what the Amazons taught me during their crash course on motherhood."

"Surely, you attended school. . ." Kasumi said.

Ranma shrugged. "Off and on. I can handle basic reading, writing, and math, but I probably don't know as many kanji as I should for my age, so reading advanced stuff is an issue. My other subjects are also spotty. Pop always said that a martial artist didn't need to be educated in anything else. I only went to school when the truant officers insisted."

"How does he expect you to be able to run a dojo without being able to read contracts and understand finances?" she asked with a frown.

He chuckled. "Pop rarely actually thinks things through." He looked her in the eyes. "Having second thoughts?"

The corners of her mouth twitched slightly. "I'm not marrying your father."

"So why did you volunteer?" he asked. "I could have sworn that Nabiki thought you were going to pass the responsibility on down the line."

She studied him carefully for a long moment before saying, "Since my mother died eleven years ago, I've been the surrogate mother for the rest of my family." She hesitated before adding quietly, "Even for my own father, who completely fell apart as a result." She looked oddly vulnerable. "Please don't tell anyone I said so. The shame of knowing his daughter thinks of him as a grown-up child, would destroy any progress my father has made over the years."

Ranma quickly agreed not to tell. Even though he spent a lot of time as a female, seeing a woman about to cry always triggered panic in him.

"I feel like I have all the responsibilities of being a mother with very little of the rewards," she continued. "My prospects for marriage are slim. I only ever see shopkeepers and the family doctor. The shopkeepers are all old men and are mostly married. Dr. Tofu is nice, but always acts like a clown. You on the other hand, seem to take your responsibilities as a parent very seriously and your little girl is darling. Can I hold her?" The last question seemed to tumble out of her mouth. She covered her mouth and blushed. "Sorry, I've been dying to ask since I first saw her. It sometimes feels as if I'll never have a baby of my own."

Ranma chuckled. "You're only nineteen, Kasumi."

She covered her mouth again and giggled. "Look at me! An old maid at nineteen!"

Ranma held out Tsukiko and Kasumi took her in her arms. He figured that whether or not his daughter liked her was the number one test for whether he would marry her.

Kasumi cooed softly and tickled Tsukiko gently under her chin. Tsukiko made baby noises back at her, which brought a big smile to the nineteen-year-old's face.

Ranma always enjoyed it when other people appreciated his daughter, so he smiled at them both. One advantage of the link they shared was that he knew just how much his daughter loved him and it kept the insecurity and jealousy away—even when he could not feel it due to being in his birth form.

Kasumi looked up at him with a hopeful look and he chuckled to himself. While he assumed it would be best if she liked him for him, liking him for his daughter was better than nothing when going into an arranged marriage.

He shook his head and said, "I'm not ready to get married, Kasumi." She opened her mouth to protest, but he plowed ahead. "I can't guarantee that I'll be ready in nine months when I turn seventeen, either. But Tsukiko likes you, so I'm willing to give it a try for now. We can talk about it again when it's closer to my birthday. What's best for my daughter trumps whatever my pop's latest scheme is."

Kasumi frowned, but nodded. She went back to playing with the little girl.

* * *

The question of sleeping arrangements came up after Ranma and Kasumi rejoined the others. Akane was not present, but everyone else was in the main room of the house.

"I only laid out two futons in the guest room," Kasumi admitted apologetically.

"I can share one of those with Tsukiko," Ranma said. "Shampoo can take the other one."

"Son," Mr. Tendo said, frowning, "I hardly think it's appropriate to share a room with a woman, especially in the home of your fiancée."

Ranma frowned in return. "I always sleep as a woman, since it makes taking care of Tsukiko much easier when she wakes up in the middle of the night and needs to be fed. And it's perfectly fine for a woman to share a room with her _sister_. Plus, I refuse to share with Pop. His snoring will keep Tsukiko awake."

"I thought you said you wanted us to think of you as a man, Saotome?" Nabiki asked with a smirk.

Ranma returned her smirk. "Actually, I said I didn't mind if you addressed me as a man. Obviously, I'm a woman some of the time." He turned to Mr. Tendo and said, "Shampoo and I have slept next to each other for months. Pop watched us like a hawk at first. Nothing inappropriate happens between us. I really view her as my sister."

Ranma's father shrugged. "It's true. There seems to be no romantic interest between them at all. The girl seems to genuinely prefer it when the boy is also a girl."

"Alright," said Kasumi. "I'll get the attic ready for Mr. Saotome."

* * *

The next morning when Ranma and Shampoo came down to breakfast after Ranma had fed Tsukiko and changed back to his birth form, Akane and Nabiki were getting ready to go to school.

"You attending school, Saotome?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "I hadn't planned on it. School isn't something that Pop is likely to cough up the money for, especially since I'm old enough that it's not mandatory anymore."

"That's right, Boy," his father exclaimed. "You should be here getting to know your new fiancée!"

Ranma rolled his eyes.

"Panda only have room for one thought in too, too small mind at one time," Shampoo said under her breath.

"There's more to running a dojo than just being good at the Art, Mr. Saotome," Kasumi said.

"Nonsense," he replied. "A superior martial artist attracts disciples like flies."

"Disciples don't pay the bills since that type rarely has any money," Nabiki countered. "You do, however, need to be able to manage multiple classes of differing levels each with a good number of students in order to make a dojo profitable."

"You also need to be able to manage finances and contracts," Kasumi added, echoing her comments from the previous night.

"Nonsense," Ranma's father said. "Tendo and I can manage those things to start and the boy can pick it up as he goes."

Nabiki snorted inelegantly and Akane crossed her arms and huffed angrily.

"Oh?" Kasumi said pleasantly. "Does that mean you and father will be restarting the dojo now in preparation for when Ranma takes over?"

Both fathers hemmed and hawed noncommittedly.

Akane slammed the door and stalked out of the house.

"Oh dear," Kasumi said softly. "I believe Akane always assumed she would inherit the dojo."

"A girl run a dojo?" Ranma's father said. "Ridiculous."

Kasumi frowned at him, while Ranma snorted. Nabiki and Shampoo both sneered at him. Mr. Tendo ducked down behind his newspaper and pretended he had not heard his friend. At one time, Ranma might have bought into his rhetoric, but that was before he got to know the Amazons and their capabilities.

"I think Mr. Panda just volunteered to try out a bamboo diet," Ranma said in an aside to Kasumi clearly intended to be heard by his father.

Kasumi nodded while his father spluttered.

"I can get you into Furinkan High School," Nabiki offered. "I can even talk them into waiving the entrance exam, which with _that_ as a role model, I'm sure you'd need." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at his father. "But it will cost you."

Ranma exchanged a glance with Kasumi. "I'll need to take a look at my options, but I don't currently have the money for that if Pop won't spring for it."

He supposed he could raid Tsukiko's treasure hoard, if he really needed to, but it would take time to send for it from the Amazon village and he wasn't sure if it was an appropriate use of his daughter's resources.

Nabiki shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you know who to come to if you need to make it happen." She grabbed her bags and headed out the door.


End file.
